Blessed and Broken
(Galatians 6: 1-10, 15b-16)
Recently Don Olsen and I attended the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church of the Pacific Northwest Conference over in Bothell. The theme for this year was “Blessed and Broken” which can be taken many ways depending upon the person and where they are at in their faith journey. I went feeling blessed, blessed to be representing Community United Methodist Church as an active and engaged church doing exactly what needs to be done in planting seeds where they need to be planted in hopes of a fruitful harvest one day in the future. And then, during the conference, I experienced some personal brokenness that really rattled my cage, but not to worry as I am still processing it and working my way though it as I count and focus upon my many blessings.
One of the blessings I experienced during the conference occurred when I became aware of who was in the room. There were just over 300 people in attendance and as I looked around the auditorium at one point when my mind wandered, I realized that I was in the company of as diverse an assembly of Christians as you could possibly experience. There were people who looked just like me who were mature, white, and gray-headed. And then I realized I was surrounded by many young people, and by young, we’re talking teens and up into their twenties and thirties. There were folks who were black, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, Tongans, Koreans, and Japanese. There were attendees, both young and old, who identified as LGBTQ and some that defied any sort of label I could come up with. I was blessed by the realization that this assembly was what the Apostle Paul was talking about in his letter to the Galatian church, the new creation introduced to us by Jesus Christ where we now live in a new era of loving all our neighbors, folks I truly wished lived in the Tri-Area and worshipped with us.
And yes, that is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in his letter to the Galatians. He wants them, and us, to understand that what truly matters is the new creation, a creation that stands for the good of all and not just the entitled and privileged.
He starts out by reminding us that we are a family and, as a family, we are responsible for one another, especially when they aren’t doing what they should be doing. He says: Brothers and sisters, if a person is caught doing something wrong, you who are spiritual should restore someone like this with a spirit of gentleness. I have jokingly said to more than one person when I’ve seen them doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing: “Are you sure that’s what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back?” There are better things we can be doing with our time that are much more constructive and beneficial for the good of all. And then Paul reminds us to watch out for ourselves so that we won’t be tempted also or caught doing something less productive when Jesus shows up unexpectedly. People really do watch what we do as Christians and use our weak moments as an excuse for not becoming one of us. He goes on to tell us that if we willingly carry each other’s burdens then we will be fulfilling the law of Christ. We do it by loving our neighbor as we too would want to be loved and treated. It means we must get involved in bearing each other’s burdens of suffering, social injustices, or physical limitations. And then he cautions us not to think we are important when we are not because, if we do, we are only fooling ourselves. He says: Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others. Each person will have to carry their own load.
He then tells us that those who are taught the word should share all good things with their teacher. I think what he is saying is that we should share our good work and what we are doing with others, those whom we look up to, those who we look to for guidance. We don’t do it to score points or to get a pat on the back, we do it so we can celebrate the goodness we are achieving in Jesus’ name. That should be reward enough. Paul underscores this by reminding us that God knows our motives and when we are not doing it for him, it’s as if we are mocking him. People will easily see through our motives and judge us to be hypocrites. He says: Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. He’s telling us to be guided by the Spirit, which is the opposite of fulfilling our selfish desires characterized by the old self committing vices that prevent one from inheriting God’s kingdom. Living by the Spirit involves bearing fruit such as love, joy, peace, patience, and other virtues. Paul urges us not to get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. Paul’s image of a long process of sowing, of planting, wouldn’t have been lost on the Galatians who understood the agrarian work ethic. In order to have a successful harvest you have to work the soil, prepare the soil, and remove as many of the rocks as possible. Then, as the seeds take root and begin to grow you have to apply the right amount of water and pull the weeds that impair the growing process. In essence, he is saying that it takes time, effort, and a watchful eye. Producing a bountiful harvest doesn’t happen overnight. Paul urges us to work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith. That’s a great reminder for us not to forget or overlook the fact that even those of us of faith need a little tending from time to time, weeds spring up, our soil becomes hard, and our spirit needs a little watering. Paul knows that what we’ve been called to do will be difficult and unpopular at times but what really matters is a new creation, the establishment of God’s kingdom here on earth, and then he closes out his letter by saying: May peace and mercy be on whoever follows this rule and on God’s Israel.
On the one hand, the Apostle knows that we who have come to believe through faith are truly blessed, but on the other hand, we also live in a broken world, a world of broken people, broken families, broken relationships, broken governments, and yes, even broken churches. What Paul is affirming in his letter is that we, as believers, are a new creation. In Christ we have become a new people who are living in a new era in which ethnic and national barriers are demolished. They are the people all around us who have been saved, called by God, regardless of the fact that they may be white, black, brown, Filipino, Tongan, Korean, Pacific Islanders, Japanese, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, gay, straight, or undefinable. Those who believe in Christ are now the true Israelites and children of Abraham. Understanding that and accepting it as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what heals us in our brokenness. It’s the glue that bonds us and makes us one in Christ. Paul envisioned Galatian congregations of people committed to self-examination and the brutally honest assessment of their own progress in holiness, offering each other the gift of support, insight, and, when necessary, correction as they traveled along the path toward Christian perfection. He envisioned this for Christ’s church universal.
This “New Creation” is the destination to which walking in line with the truth of the gospel brings the Christ-follower; it is what comes to life as faith invests itself in loving action. Being blessed to be a part of this new creation is so different from the way the world works and the ways in which the world has shaped and continues to define us that the most suitable metaphor Paul can find to capture the radical nature of the Spirit’s work is dying to one existence and rising to a new one. The world as we know it does not desire to be a part of the new creation and fights with all it has to maintain the status quo of power, greed, corruption, and domination over the least, the last, and the lost. They revel in the brokenness of this world and care little about the Gospel of Jesus Christ or receiving God’s blessings. There’s nothing in it for them or theirs.
But we creatures of the new creation who long to live in this new era of love, peace, joy, grace, and forgiveness are graciously rewarded by God as we have valued his gifts by using them to the utmost in showing the love of Christ to our neighbors as we would want to be loved, and his creation. The unselfish and loving manner in which we use those gifts for the common good accomplishes his purposes for them in and through the believer’s life. In our brokenness we are blessed and are therefore a blessing to others, just as God always intended.
Let us pray.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Yes, gracious and loving God, how blessed we are that are hearts are bound in Christian love and that we live in fellowship with others who rejoice to be a part of the new creation. We pray that you will, by your Spirit, keep us focused upon the work that needs to be done in this new era in which the followers of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, work to restore your creation. May we use the gifts you have bestowed upon us for the good of all. This we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
To view service live; click link below
Blessed and Broken
In Christ we have become a new people who are living in a new era in which ethnic and national barriers are demolished.
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